Tailgate shenanigans

Hi guys. Got to a gas station after a long drive and my tailgate was down and popped out like this. I have watched the videos of how to remove it normally and it... Just isn't moving like that. It's stuck behind the post. I sat at the gas station with a guy who works on the pumps and we could not figure out how to get this out save a crowbar.



Any thoughts?it was going to remove the mount, remove the tailgate, reinstall the mount then reinstall the tailgate. I had the right torx head but the bolt head just instantly stripped.

 

Are you sure it stripped the head and didnt just scrape out the paint that its covered in? Its weird that its stuck like that, were you driving with the tailgate down? There is no way that would happen if it was closed since there are latches to secure it.

To avoid it in the future you can just put a C clamp around that joint.

 

I don't think I was driving with the tailgate down but it's possible that I mistakenly left it down and a weird jostle / bounce brought it out.

I drove it to Florida from Michigan to make my suspension appointment this morning. When I get it back home I can fuss with the bracket some more and see if maybe it was just the paint I pulled out. I was having trouble finding a good half inch drive in the speedway parking lot but I've got my real tools at home.

 

Thats probably what happened. Unless your latches got ripped off or fell off, but I am sure you would have noticed that. My buddies tacoma has the tailgate pop out often, but hes in construction and with the composite bed, stuff slides and gets lodged in the crack between the tailgate and bed and when you go to lift up the tailgate withsomething in between there, it pops right out. He refuses to use the clamp on the joint because he says he would rather the gate pop up in case he doesnt notice when something is in between there, rather than go to try and slam it and have soemthing bend because it couldnt pop up and provide some give. Guess it makes sense in his case.

 

For the C clamp - how do you orient it? Trying to wrap my mind around how it would clear.

 

Sorry not a C clamp, a hose clamp with a screw.

 

Gotcha! That's a good idea.

 

Best bet is to remove your bumper, pretty sure that’ll give you enough clearance to take out the tail gate.